On July 20, 1969, the world huddled in front of television screens, watching fuzzy images of an American taking a "giant leap" nearly 240,000 miles away.

It's been 48 years since NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to step on the moon, perfectly encapsulating the moment with one of the 20th century's legendary quotes: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." (Many misquote Armstrong, leaving out the word "a" because of garbled audio from the recording.)

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After a landing that left mission control for Apollo 11 breathless -- "You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue" -- Armstrong and Aldrin explored the surface for two and a half hours, collecting samples and taking photographs.

The landing marked the "beginning of a new age," Armstrong said in a press conference at the time, and 10 more astronauts would head to the moon until the final Apollo mission in 1972.